Newly appointed Ambassadors from three countries have on Sunday presented their letters of credence to Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

At separate ceremonies held at the President’s Office on Sunday, newly appointed Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the Maldives, Dr. Ashraf Farhad Shikhaliyev, Ambassador of Finland to the Maldives, Harri Kämäräinen and Ambassador of Switzerland to the Maldives Hanspeter Mock presented their credentials.

The ceremonies were joined by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.

The ambassadors congratulated President Solih on his triumphant victory in the presidential election held last September and conveyed their best wishes towards the President’s administration and to the people of the Maldives, conveying their warm sentiments towards Maldives.

During the calls, President Solih had congratulated all three ambassadors on the commencement of their terms.

New Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Maldives

President’s Office revealed that during the call, Ambassador Shikhaliyev mentioned the Maldivian students who are pursuing higher studies in Azerbaijan through scholarships currently and encouraged Maldivians to choose Azerbaijan when considering higher education.

In this regard the Ambassador emphasized that the diplomatic academy in ADA University provides professional, “high quality” teaching with a “welcoming environment” in their campus that will be appealing to students.

In conclusion, Ambassador Shikhaliyev wished President Solih all the best in fulfilling his mandate to his people.

In addition, President Solih had shed light on the cooperative spirit that has held the ties strong between Maldives and Azerbaijan.

President Solih went on to express his government’s commitment to explore further avenues for cooperation with the Azerbaijani government with hopes to discuss further during the upcoming Partnership Forum set to be held in March.

New Ambassador of Finland to the Maldives

While President Solih expressed his hope that the positive relations of cooperation that underscore bilateral ties between both countries will continue to prosper during Finnish Ambassador Kämäräinen’s term, the Ambassador reiterated the President’s remarks.

The Finnish Ambassador also noted the positive regard Maldives has had towards the education system in Finland, emphasizing on the Finnish Government’s eagerness to provide Maldives with assistance to strengthen its education system.

Ambassador Kämäräinen also expressed interest to help Maldives progress in other areas such as development of clean technology and digital healthcare.

New Ambassador of Switzerland to Maldives

Maldives attaches great importance to the friendly ties and cooperation between Maldives and Switzerland, said President Solih.

Expressing his hope that these friendly relations will continue to strengthen during Ambassador Mock’s tenure, President Solih expressed his government’s interest to explore opportunities to increase trade and investment between both countries.

Reiterating the President’s wishes to strengthen bonds, Ambassador Mock commended President Solih’s government’s first 100-day pledges, describing it as a “bold and ambitious” agenda.

The pair discussed issues of mutual concern such as democracy, human rights and climate change.

Ambassador Mock further expressed on behalf of the Swiss government to provide support to the Maldivian government.